Westgate Pet Clinic is celebrating it’s 40th anniversary this year. The clinic was founded in 1973 by Dr. Bennett Porter II (our Dr. Porter’s father). The original Westgate Pet Clinic was located at the northeast corner of the current parking lot. Before it became Westgate Pet Clinic the building housed Leo's Mobil Gas Station.
Back in 1973 the clinic hours were 8-6 with everyone taking a 2 hour lunch break. Saturdays hours were 8-12. The clinic was closed every Wednesday afternoon. Dr. Porter II worked every Saturday from 1973 to 1983 (10 years!) as well as every Sunday 2-6pm.
Dr. Porter purchased the clinic from his father in 1996 and Dr. Downie became a partner in 2000. Fun fact: Dr. Porter and Dr. Downie met the first day of vet school at the U of M in 1978. In 2012, Dr. Porter and Dr. Downie sold the clinic to four of their associates, Dr. Erik Melin, Dr. Olivia Mirodone, Dr. Teresa Hershey, and Dr. Brek Perry.
The location of our current clinic at 4345 France was originally a two-story building that was known as Westgate Lockers. It contained freezers for meat preparation; it burned down in 1980. The current building was built in 2005.
As celebration of Westgate’s 40th anniversary all dogs and cats will receive a free bandanna with an annual exam for the whole year. Happy Birthday Westgate!
